Water Board Race Comes to a Murky Boil in Calabasas

An offbeat campaign for an obscure Calabasas water board seat ended the way it started: with charges flying and confusion everywhere.

Fresh accusations of malfeasance were leveled as candidates for the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District’s Division 2 seat attacked each other--and then took swipes at the audience in the last public forum before the election.

By the time the forum concluded, incumbent Director Tad Mattock and challenger Glen Peterson--not the audience--were asking the questions. Members of the audience, meanwhile, were making the speeches.

The Calabasas forum Thursday, which followed a similar one Wednesday in Agoura Hills, was an appropriate wrap-up for a campaign that has had more ups and downs than the hilly streets of the two communities.

Late Lunch Cited

Mattock accused Peterson of attending a farewell party Tuesday for departing Water District Manager Richard B. Baird that kept district staffers at a local restaurant and bar “well over their one-hour lunch period.”

Mattock described the luncheon as “a misuse of public funds” and blasted Peterson for fitting in with the “country club” atmosphere that he said other water board members enjoy. He said other directors sometimes call non-business meetings so they can collect the $100-per-meeting fee that they are paid.

“I’m running on a platform of reform,” Mattock said. “I want to do away with the perks of the good old boys.”

Peterson accused Mattock of creating a liability for the district “by delivering water in trash-can bags,” which is not the district’s usual way of transporting water, to homeowners during a recent water outage.

‘Severe Liability’

This and other incidents show that Mattock is “a severe liability” to the Las Virgenes district, Peterson said.

Similar attacks have been exchanged throughout the campaign by Mattock, a 72-year-old retired aerospace worker from Calabasas, and Peterson, 39, an Agoura realtor.

The campaign reached a peak last weekend when Mattock hired teen-agers to insert election flyers in front-yard water-meter boxes. Homeowners complained that some of the box lids, which people could trip over, had been left ajar, so the district sent workers Sunday to close them.

Mattock has also been accused of painting campaign slogans on real estate signs without permission and erecting a heavy plywood campaign sign over a school bus stop, where it could fall and hit children.

Accused of Faking Protests

Peterson has been accused of arranging phony citizen protests to discredit Mattock’s work and of illegally posting his own campaign signs on public property.

Each has accused the other of failing to identify contributors to their $3,000 campaigns. And each has suggested that his foe is a tool of developers--the most damaging charge that can be leveled against a local politician in the Las Virgenes area, where many homeowners want to restrict growth.

The two candidates do not even agree on the number of voters who will be eligible to cast ballots Tuesday. Mattock said there are 5,200 registered voters; Peterson said there are 4,700. District administrators say the number is closer to 5,000.

They did agree, however, on one thing: Whoever is elected will have little impact on district policies, water rates or Las Virgenes’ $10-million annual operating budget.

Repeat of Close Race

District officials say the election could be a rerun of a cliffhanger four years ago, when Mattock and Peterson first faced each other. Mattock won that election by 39 votes.

This year, the main victims of the fighting have been outside the boundaries of Division 2.

Los Angeles County officials canceled water board elections in neighboring Divisions 5 and 3 after supporters of Mattock and Peterson pointed out discrepancies in candidate papers filed in those two races.

As a result, county Supervisor Mike Antonovich will appoint directors to four-year terms for those seats, although a spokeswoman said Thursday that it is not known whether he will do so before the election.

Although some district residents have described this year’s Division 2 race as “shameful” and “embarrassing,” the campaign has united supporters around both candidates.

At Thursday’s forum, a Mattock backer took the floor, gave his views on civic responsibility and challenged Peterson’s background in community service. Peterson shot back: “You should get your facts straight.”

Mattock, who has referred to Peterson’s supporters as “bullies,” had an equally sharp rebuke for a man who asked about district expense in replacing the meter lids.

“The cost is not a concern of yours,” Mattock told him.